WHS Boys Soccer Ends Season in Playoffs
Since the program's establishment in 2001, Waller High School (WHS) Boys Soccer has made it a tradition to make it to the playoffs. This year marked the 14th year in a row the varsity team advanced to playoffs. With only two returning varsity players, the team’s season began with a rough start but, they found their stride by mid-January and made the playoffs.
“I feel very proud of the team’s accomplishments this year,” Head Soccer Coach Juan Saldana said. “We went to playoffs with 82 percent of the players playing varsity for the first time. The students have worked very hard.”
Although the team worked hard to make it to the top of district play, they were defeated in round one of the playoffs by Caney Creek HS 2-0. They began training at the end of the 2017-2018 season. Coach Saldana, along with WHS Strength and Conditioning Coach Brian Ibanez, created a specific weight lifting program for the team. They were weight lifting three times a week, while working on conditioning the other days. Once the season began, the team practiced four days a week including during bad weather conditions, where they would practice inside. Due to their commitment to greatness, there was only one day out the year the team did not practice.
After such an intense season, several students were awarded All-District honors. All-District Defensive MVP: Issac Esquivel. First Team All-District: Ismael Castillo and Albert Gallegos. Second Team All-District: Ivan Hernandez and Brandon Lopez. Honorable Mention: Hector Marentes, Domenick Gannon, and Christian Leon.